The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop nos 1953 block

merry christmas and stay warm.
ok back in the summer i bought a 51 burb from a nice older gentleman. went back later to pick up some more parts and he ask if i would be interested in a old block for one of these ole trucks. since there was one spot left in my shop where you could still see the floor, i said sure. we went to an old garage in the back yard and he showed me a wooden crate and in it was a block dated 53. seems he had a 53 chevy wagon years ago and bought this and never used it. well i bought and brought it home with me.
could some of you fellows give me some info on it? i searched and found some info, but thought some of you could put it in better perspective for me.
here,s the link to some pic,s and thanks - by the way, the chevy dealer on the tag is still in business

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11977495@N06/sets/72157611499558198/

1953 is an oddball year for 235 engines. The block casting code in your photo (3701946) is for a low-pressure 1953 235 block that was used on cars and trucks that had a manual transmission. This block would have used solid lifters.

Nice find.

How many head-bolt holes does it have (15 or 18)?

Tim

Tim, that is the same casting number that was in my truck when I got it.

53 was the year Chev introduced the 'full pressure' 235, but only if you got a passenger car with the powerglide trans. ALL other 53s were non-pressure motors (press gauge only read to max of 30 psi). Inliners.org should have the list of numbers.

I believe that the LEA code is a 235 low pressure motor. I think my '53 6400 truck has the same code.

From the list of trucks that you have, I am sure that you can look at the driver's side of the block to see if it is a low pressure version.

thanks for the input so far. i should have been more clear with my ??
it has the port on the side like my 50 6400 with 235 low presure. so this means insert mains and babbitt rods, i was not sure on the 53 models.
tim it has 18 head bolts.

this block does not have any stamping on the dist pad, but has the factory tag with lea on it.
don this block also has the bosses for the side mounts used in the cars, did the truck engines in 53 also have these?
are the low preasure cranks different from the full preasure ?
thanks again, this would be a neat engine to put together.

The 18 head-bolts is one of the reasons for referring to this year's 235 as oddities.

The Powerglide 235 (used in most cars with hydraulic lifters but used in Corvettes with solid lifers) was the first high-pressure (full-pressure) 235 engine. It had 18 head bolts, as did all 54-63 235/261 engines. It also had only two valve-cover bolts, as did all earlier 2167/235 low-pressure engines.

Your block is a low-pressure oil-system block (as were all the earlier 216 and earlier 235 blocks), but your block has 18 head bolts, while all 216 and earlier 235 low-pressure blocks had 15 head bolts.

Thus, block/head casting numbers and engine ID serial numbers seem to be the best way to ID 1953 235 engines.

By the way, what is your head casting number and your engine's head block and head casting dates? Here are some photos for locations that might work for a 1953 engine). If you looks for these codes, would you please post them and indicate if their locations are as shown in my photos? Thanks.

Someone else will know for sure the answer to your side motor-mounts question but I do not think that the side mounts with threaded bosses were found on truck 235/261 blocks until sometime in the 2nd half of the 1950's (I am almost certain that they were not cast into 1947 to 55-1st series Advance-Design trucks' blocks).

Tim

Tim, et al.,

The 1952-54 passenger car side mount bosses were cast into the 1954 261 factory replacement blocks, at least in the three such blocks that I have acquired over the years. However, the bosses were not always drilled and tapped, as two of the blocks had solid bosses. I drilled and tapped the bosses in 1958 in order to put one of the block in my 1953 210 sedan. As one of the other blocks went into a 1951 coupe, there was no need to tap the bosses. Has anyone ever figured out just how many different Stovebolt blocks-heads-engine combinations were produced. If I ever retire that would be an interesting endeavor; but I need to clean up my shop, basement, wood shop first.

Hoyt

I agree that the "LEA" on the tag signifies a 235 motor built for the 6000 series of trucks in 53'. The "A" designates a Flint-built engine.
With the 6000 series in mind you may find something useful in this page of engine data from the 53 resto-pack from the Keith Hardy site.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyresto/53141.htm

Again congrats on your find. Seems almost like a time capsule.